Lithocarpus densiflorus (accepted: Notholithocarpus densiflorus) · Fagaceae · all Lithocarpus records · also called Tanbark & tan oak, Tan oak, tanbark oak · Wikipedia
The Place chip compares this record with your lot.
The UC Forest Products Laboratory says the guide covers properties of common California landscaping plants and was prepared for California fire agencies. FireApproved publishes 130 exact owners at historical California publication scope. The report is a 1997 compilation, not a current endorsement, site rating, or independent test of every row.
2. Why this plant is relevant here
State distribution
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
Where its sources say to plant it
Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating.
They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.
Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interf…: Chapter 4, Landscape Vegetation Database [ucfpl-1997] (mid-scale rating)
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
8 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
Primary study Engber2012: Engber, E. A., & Varner, J. M. (2012). Patterns of flammability of the California oaks: the role of leaf traits. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 42, 1965-1975.
Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Engber2012-1; sampling ND.
Primary study Varner2017: Varner, J. M., Kuljian, H. G., & Kreye, J. K. (2017). Fires without tanoak: the effects of a non-native disease on future community flammability. Biological Invasions, 19, 2307-2317.
Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Varner2017-1; sampling ND.
Lithocarpus densiflorus (Tanbark & tan oak, Tan oak, tanbark oak). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/notholithocarpus-densiflorus/. Last verified 2026-08-25.
